Naperville man named to foreclosure committee

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Naperville resident Robert G. Gibson, a judge in the 18th Judicial Circuit in DuPage County, has been named to a special committee set up to study the judicial process for mortgage foreclosures.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced the formation of the committee Monday. The group will study and formulate proposals to help those facing the loss of their homes and improve the judicial process in mortgage foreclosures throughout Illinois.

The proposal was brought to Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and the Supreme Court by Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis, who said the problem of foreclosures isn’t easing.

Kilbride was instrumental in bringing a foreclosure mediation program to Will County and is looking at instituting additional programs in his Third Judicial District across north central Illinois.

“These have been important steps forward for those who are faced with the loss of their homes due to declining home values and our nation’s economic crisis, but the problem isn’t going away,” Kilbride said. “The Supreme Court has a keen interest in programs with the strong promise of achieving timely and lasting resolution to tough problems, and we believe this select committee can come up with specific solutions to help families cope with the emotional and financial burdens of those facing such a devastating loss.”

The committee consists of 14 people who have been on the front lines in dealing with the housing crisis, how it affects home-owning families as well as the lenders. They are judges, bankers, lawyers, a law professor and an official from the Illinois attorney general’s office.

“While the economy appears to be making some progress, the foreclosure crisis remains a serious societal problem,” Theis said. “It is important that the court try to do what it can to lend some stability and certitude to what is a financially and emotionally chaotic process. Mortgage foreclosure proceedings in Illinois need to be fair, efficient and final, not subject to later legal challenges.

“Many homeowners in foreclosure cases cannot afford to hire a lawyer to represent them,” Thies said. “They may not understand the proceedings against them and they don’t know if lenders have taken shortcuts by false documentation. We need to provide protocols that are uniform and exist throughout the state to deal with the explosion of foreclosures that drive down property values and destabilize neighborhoods.”

The Supreme Court has asked the committee to investigate specific areas: Inventory procedures currently in use in Illinois jurisdictions, including Supreme Court rules and local court rules that affect foreclosure proceedings; analyze procedures adopted in other states in response to the unprecedented number of foreclosure filings nationwide; and review legislative proposals pending in the Illinois General Assembly that may impact the mortgage foreclosure scheme.

Finally, the Supreme Court asked the committee to recommend to the court mortgage foreclosure rules to be implemented statewide.